Naruto: Slug Sage
by Zeromus12
Summary: What if the roles of the Sannin were reversed? Jiraiya, disillusioned by the death of his student and the defection of his best friend and rival Orochimaru, forsakes the Leaf to pursue his perversions. Tsunade, on the other hand, steeled her resolve to serve the village despite the loss of those closest to her. How will this change affect our favorite Demon-vessel? Medic!Naruto
1. Enter Tsunade!

AN: Hey guys! Long-time reader, first-time writer here. I just had this idea in my head and it wouldn't leave, so I thought I would give writing a shot. Bear with me, as I take my first step into the world of Naruto Fanfiction!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; it is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

Summary: What if the roles of the Sannin were reversed? Jiraiya, disillusioned by the death of his student and the defection of his best friend and rival Orochimaru, forsakes the Leaf to pursue his perversions. Tsunade, on the other hand, steeled her resolve to serve her village despite the loss of those closest to her. How will this change affect our favorite demon-vessel? Medic!Naruto.

–

"But Kakashi-sensei, you have to train me for the finals!"

As hard as he tried, Naruto couldn't keep the jealousy out of his voice. He worked hard for this, and couldn't believe that he was being sidelined yet again for his "prodigal" team mate Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. But with Orochimaru's seal on Sasuke's neck, he needs constant supervision. As I'm the only other Sharingan-user in the village, no one else can help train him how to handle that kind of power responsibly." Kakashi gave the blonde a pat on the head. "Don't worry though," he said casually. "I wouldn't leave you all by yourself for an entire month."

At this, Naruto perked up, excited for the prospect of training under someone new. "Is it someone strong? Don't tell me. You set me up with personal jutsu training from the Hokage! No no, he's probably really busy. Maybe that crazy snake-lady from the second part of the test? Ooh! Or that guy with the scars all over his face! How about caterpilla-"

"Naruto!" yelled Kakashi, exasperated with the blonde's enthusiasm. "While all of those people are indeed qualified to teach you, I was able to get someone better. In fact, I would even say that he's a better instructor than I am."

–

To say that he was disappointed was the understatement of the year. Of all the people Kakashi could have picked, it had to be _him_. Normally, Naruto would have been happy with anyone. Really. But Kakashi had to pick the _one_ Jounin in Konohagakure no Sato that he had the ability to render unconcious with a single jutsu.

"To succeed in the Chuunin exams," Ebisu lectured, "one must have perfect chakra control. It seems, however, that your sensei left you severely lacking in that area of study." At this, he gave Naruto a long, judging glare. While he had a new-found respect for the boy after observing his effect on Konohamaru, the tokubetsu jounin couldn't overlook the gaps in Naruto's ninja-related knowledge.

"Hey!" Naruto pouted. He couldn't help it that he had weak chakra control. Not only did he have larger than normal reserves for a genin, he also had to worry about his furry tenant. Nevertheless, he couldn't argue with his temporary teacher. Oftentimes he saw Sakura utilize less than a tenth of what he did on the same techniques.

"Hmph. You can't go through life overpowering everything, Naruto-kun. You'll never live up to your full potential. Luckily, we have one month of uninterrupted training to get you up to par!" At this, Naruto felt frustration. He didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the Chuunin exams if he spent the entire month just getting "up to par," like the jounin planned. _I have to ditch this guy and find someone strong to train me, _he thought.

Unfortunately, Naruto's ability to plan ahead was only slightly better than his chakra control. As a result, he was stuck for now, and he knew it. _Who knows? Maybe Ebisu-sensei can teach me something in the mean time. He's not a jounin for nothing._

"So what do we do first, Ebisu-sensei?"

"I'm glad you asked, my dear student. To answer that, we shall be making our way to the hot springs on the edge of town."

"Konoha has hotsprings?" Naruto asked. He had never been to an onsen before, as those were usually for people with money. Being an orphan on Konoha's payroll as a genin, he didn't exactly have the funds to spend on something so frivolous.

"Of course! Haven't you ever gone to the Entertainment District?" Seeing Naruto's blank look, he continued. "Konoha may be a hidden village full of ninjas, but even we have a need for rest and relaxation. Hence, the Entertainment District. They have movie theaters, casinos, arcades, the hot springs, and, ***ahem** an adult section..."

"I knew it! You're not really gonna be training me! You're just using this as an excuse to be a pervert!" Ebisu had a slight blush on his cheeks, but had the decency to deny the genin's accusations.

"No, no! I would never be caught in _that_ part of the district. We are simply going for the hot springs."

"Mehhhh, what are we gonna do at the hotsprings, huh? Peak on some girls? Hmmmm? Closet-pervert?"

"Don't be silly. Shinobi of my caliber don't indulge in such despicable practices," Ebisu stated unconvincingly. "I have an image to uphold! Besides, hot springs are the perfect place for what I have in mind for your training."

"Sure, sensei, what ever you say," Naruto said, not believing him. "Lead the way."

–

On the way to the hotsprings, Naruto tried to think of what his temporary teacher was up to. Maybe hot water relaxed you to the point where chakra was easier to control? Maybe there was special water there that made you ten times stronger when you drank it? It didn't help that Ebisu was being tight-lipped about the training.

When they arrived at the entrance to Konoha's entertainment district, Naruto was interrupted from his musings by the sight in front of him. He had never been to this part of town before, and was greatly surprised that such a loud and boisterous place could even exist in a hidden village! There were flashing lights and loud sounds everywhere, rivaling those that could be found in nearby cities like Otafuku-gai where places like this would not be out of place. In a hidden village though, it was nothing short of astonishing.

"This way, Naruto. The hot springs are on the far side. Don't touch anything, and don't speak to anyone. With your luck, you'd probably end up gambling your wallet away before we get there." Ebisu's warning did not fall on deaf ears, as Naruto tightened his grip on his beloved Gama-chan. As the pair made their way through the crowded street however, Naruto could not help but let his eyes wander. He made a note to stop by for a visit some time in the future, when he had some free time.

Lost in his musings, Naruto failed to realize that he was no longer following the jounin. Looking around, Ebisu was no where in sight. All he could see were throngs of people moving about. He quickly decided that the best bet of finding his sensei was to get to higher ground. Since the Casino was the tallest building in the area, Naruto made his way there, and started climbing.

–

Tsunade couldn't help herself. She planned on heading straight to the Hokage's office upon arriving at the village gates, but she couldn't resist the allure of the Casino. This one had always been particularly good to her. Everywhere else her luck was shit, but the one in her home town was by far the kindest. Often times at this place she came out on top, at least by the very slimmest of margins.

"Come on, Tonton, let's see if it's mama's lucky day." A small oink from the pet pig in her arms was the only reply. Some people might find it weird to be carrying around a pig, but she didn't give a damn. Tonton was the only thing she had left of her little brother Nawaki. He died years and years ago, leaving nothing behind but his little pet pig. But she'd be damned if she didn't use her prowess as the world's most powerful medic ninja to keep at least a little piece of little brother alive with her all of these years. It was that reminder of her brother and his dream that kept her going, and admittedly, kept her coming back.

Unlike her former teammate Jiraiya, who left Konoha in despair and vowing to never return, Tsunade devoted herself to the creation and maintenance of a sizable spy network all throughout the elemental countries. Under the guise of a visiting medical doctor, she spread her fame and made her fortune visiting poor villages and rich cities alike, planting the seeds of her web everywhere she went. Each patient she treated was a new ally. After all, who wouldn't be extremely grateful to the person who rid you of a life-threatening disease, returned your eyesight, or saved your children?

_The Hokage can wait_, she thought to herself. _I don't have to report in right away... hehe. Besides, I've been traveling for weeks, I deserve a little break._

The anticipation started building in her. Would she win today? Would she lose? She couldn't wait to feel the crisp bills in her hands, or the jingle of coins as they made their way into her pockets. Unfortunately, she would get neither. Upon reaching the entrance, Tsunade was greeted with the sight of a foot falling on her face.

–

Seconds Earlier

From the top of the building, Naruto could see very far. Luckily for him, Ebisu hadn't gone very far before noticing that his charge was missing, and had stopped to look around. When Naruto spotted him, he immediately jumped down from the building to make his way to the closet-pervert. What he didn't expect, however, was for there to be a person beneath him to break his fall. Try as he might, he couldn't shift quickly enough, and ended up planting his foot on her face. As fast as he could, he jumped off to the side.

"Ahhhhhh! Sorry sorry!" Naruto scrambled about. He didn't know what to do! What if he'd just killed a civilian? He was sure that was frowned upon. What if they died? Could he still be Hokage?

"Naruto, you idiot!" yelled Ebisu, finally catching up to his errant student.

"I didn't see her! What do we do!"

"I told you to stay close!"

"I did! You're the adult, how did you lose me!"

In their panic, neither of them noticed the blonde woman recover from Naruto's "ambush" until it was too late. Heavy killing intent filled the air. It was so thick and powerful that all activity on the street halted. People stopped talking, entertainers stopped their side-shows, kids stopped playing games. There was complete silence except for the two arguing in front of her.

In synch, the two slowly turned their heads towards the source of the powerful force. To his credit, Ebisu was able to shake it off enough to form words. Before he could actually use said words, however, the sight in front of him stopped him in his tracks.

_Blonde hair, pet pig, green jacket with the symbol for "gamble", curvy hips, great body type, a huge set of-_

Blood started dripping slowly from his nose at that thought. Unfortunately for him, the blonde woman noticed it as well, and traced his eyesight straight to her chest. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled her fist back, and yelled "PERVERT" for all to hear. As her hand hit his face, poor Ebisu was sent flying into the distance.

_Strong..._ was the only thought going through Naruto's head at the sight. He was shocked at this woman's amazing strength. For all the jokes he threw around about Ebisu, he knew that the guy was a jounin. You didn't get to that status by being weak, yet this woman sent him flying with one punch. As she turned her attention to him, Naruto did what naruto did best.

"You're going to be my sensei!" he declared.

"Excuse me? You just stepped on my face, and you expect me to teach you anything?" Tsunade couldn't believe the audacity this kid had. Not only did he essentially kick her face, but also demanded training after. It was then that she noticed his features. The blonde hair, the six whisker marks on his cheeks, the Uzumaki spiral on the back of his jacket... this was the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki.

"No." And with that answer, she walked past him and into the casino. Not one to be deterred, Naruto followed her.

"But you're so strong! I need someone like that to teach me for the finals of the chuunin exams!" Naruto begged. He wasn't going to let this chance get away from him. "Plus, you just knocked out my sensei. You owe me one!"

"I don't owe you shit, kid." Tsunade made her way through the slot machines to the gaming tables.

At this point, Naruto was at a loss. He had no idea how to convince her to take him under her wing. But Naruto wasn't known as Konoha's most unpredictable ninja for nothing.

"Let's make a bet." As soon as she heard those magical words, Tsunade perked up. She just couldn't resist.

"I'm listening," she said.

"We'll draw for a high card. If I win, you teach me something that'll help me win in the Chuunin exam finals."

"And if you lose?"

"If I lose, I'll leave you alone."

"Pfft. No deal, kid. I could just pick you up and throw you to the moon. You gotta offer something more substantial." At this, Naruto deflated. He started to walk away, until an idea struck him.

"How about I bet my Gama-chan?" At her confused look, he held up his froggy wallet for her to see. "It's filled with money." Fortunately for Naruto, living solely on ramen for months at a time enabled him to save up a ridiculous amount of cash. Not only did he have the money from all of the D-ranked missions, but he also had the substantial amount given to him from his mission to Wave Country. Like Kakashi had once said, A-ranks aren't cheap.

Luckily, there was enough cash in Gama-chan to pique Tsunade's interest. She had been planning on hunting down the Kyuubi brat when she got back in town anyway. So why not? It was a win-win situation for her. "Alright kid, we'll play a hand. Just be ready to hand over that precious Gama-chan of yours when I win this, hehe. Dealer, set us up!"

With that, the nearest dealer shuffled a deck of cards. Once he was done, Naruto pulled a card from the stack and placed it face up on the table.

"HA!" yelled Tsunade. "A three. That' not hard to beat! Get ready, cuz here's your beat down." With that, she pulled her own card.

–

Ten minutes later found Tsunade, Tonton, and very happy Naruto at the mouth of the river feeding water into the hotsprings.

"So I never learned your name," Naruto said, at an attempt to initiate a real conversation.

"What? You mean you've never heard of me? Bow down before your betters, brat! For you are in the presence of greatness!" From out of nowhere, Tsunade pulled out a pair of fans with the words "slug" and "princess" written on them. "I am the the great medic of Konoha. Able to heal all ailments, cure diseases, and mend injuries. I am the Slug Princess, Senju TSUNADE!"

_Ughhhhh why do I always get the weirdos, _thought Naruto, as Tsunade finished her interpretive dance on top of a gigantic slug. Gathering himself, Naruto asked, "So what are you gonna teach me? Am I gonna be able to knock my opponent out in a single punch?"

"Hahahaha! It takes years of practicing chakra control before you get my strength brat! I'm only as strong as I am now with over 4 decades of practice!"

At hearing this, Naruto sweat dropped. "F-f-f—four decades? Jeez, baa-chan, how old are you?"

"I AM NOT OLD" To further emphasize her point, she slammed her fist into a tree, immediately felling it. "Got it?"

"Yeah yeah, I got it," Naruto said nervously. With that kind of strength, he was sure he didn't want to get on her bad side. "But my chakra control is the worst," he admitted sadly.

"Show me." With this, naruto walked to the nearest tree and began to climb up.

"Before, I could hold this forever. But ever since that Oro-whatever guy did something to my chakra, I can't hold it for very long. Something changes and screws it all up. That's why I jumped down that building when I landed on you, instead of running down like I normally would."

Hearing her old teammate's name immediately put Tsunade on edge. She kneeled down in front of Naruto. "Lift up your shirt and channel chakra to the seal on your stomach."

Naruto was shocked that she knew about the nine-tails, but complied nonetheless. As Tsunade inspected his seal, she gathered chakra to her fingertips. Before Naruto could react, she slammed her hand over Naruto's stomach.

"Kai!" With a surge of energy, Tsunade obliterated the Five Elements Seal that Orochimaru had placed on Naruto. "There we go. You'll still have terrible chakra control, but at least you won't have Oro-teme's seal compounding the issue."

"Whoa, I feel a lot better."

"You're welcome. Now let's see what we can do about fixing that control problem of yours..." Tsunade had a wicked smirk and a gleam in her eye that promised Naruto nothing but pain.

–

Tsunade stared at the horde of blonde-haired gennin in front of her in amazement. She learned that her new student had not only known how to perform the shadow clone technique, but could also create hundreds, if not thousands, at a time. With the shadow clone's ability to retain it's experiences and memories after being dispelled, and giving them back to the original, one could literally condense a year's worth of training into one day. This was something that she had no shame in taking advantage of.

After evaluating Naruto's capabilities, she had quickly set him to task. Any bystander that happened upon them would be amazed at the sight of a thousand different Naruto's running around doing various chakra control exercises. Some could be seen attempting to walk on water, others had various leaves stuck to different parts of their bodies. Every few seconds a few would dispel themselves, while a small set of clones created more to replace them.

The original, on the other hand, was sitting next to Tsunade in meditation. While this type of training is highly beneficial in speeding up the learning process, it was taxing both mentally and physically. Until Naruto got used to the constant influx of information, he would be useless, at least for a few hours.

Tsunade decided to use this time to meet with the Hokage. After making some hand seals and drawing some blood, she summoned two slugs. She placed the small slug on her shoulder, while the large one proceeded to swallow the meditating Naruto whole.

"Katsuyu-sama, please keep him in stabilized until he wakes up. Keep me informed of his status while I go meet with the old man," she said, pointing to the slug on her shoulder. When she looked up, however, she noticed that all of the clones had stopped what they were doing and had looks of disgust on their faces.

"Ewwww, baa-chan, did that big slug just eat the boss?" one of the clones asked in horror.

"Shut up, brat! And get back to work before I have my slugs eat the rest of you!" Suffice it to say, they promptly continued with their training. "I'll be back when Naruto wakes up, but keep going until then. I'll know if you've been slacking!"

Tsunade made her way out of the clearing, and headed towards the Hokage tower. Upon arrival, she took one great leap, and hurled herself to the highest window. After all, it had been a while since she'd seen the old man. Why not make a scene with her entrance?

–

Sarutobi Hiruzen was having a quiet day. Being the leader of a major village, those were often few and far between. He glanced to his left. No one there. Then he glanced to his right. All clear. With a giggle worthy of a five year old girl, he opened the secret compartment in his desk and slowly pulled out an orange book.

_Oohhhh, Jiraiya-kun has really outdone himself this time,_ he thought. _This latest installment in the 12-part series of Icha-icha World Domination is 700 pages long!_ After double-checking that even his Anbu guards had been told to wait outside his office, he reached for the cover. The anticipation was killing him. As he turned the page to read the first words, a loud crash interrupted his thoughts.

There, in all of her glory, was his old student, Senju Tsunade, looking as victorious as ever. Pig in her arms and all. _Uh oh_. He tried to hide the book, but it was too late. Before he knew it, her fist met with his face.

"ERO-SENSEI!" She didn't mean it, but for some reason perverts really got under her skin. She sighed in frustration, before grabbing the twitching Hokage from the ground and began healing the giant bruise that was developing on his face. "You shouldn't be reading those, sensei. You'd live longer."

"Haha, Tsunade-chan, when you get to be my age, you don't worry about living longer," Sarutobi chuckled. "Bruises or not, I am glad that you answered my summons."

"Of course, sensei. I'd ask what you called me in for, but I already have an idea," said Tsunade.

"You mean-"

"Yeah, I found Naruto on my way in. It seems that Oro-teme left him a little present. It's a good thing I was here, because it was doing some serious damage to his chakra," said Tsunade. "But I have even more bad news, sensei. It seems that my former teammate is no longer our only problem. They're starting to mobilize."

"They?" asked Sarutobi.

"Akatsuki," she replied. "I don't have many details yet, but my spies are keeping me informed. I had planned on taking Naruto with me to keep him safe."

"Unfortunately we can't do that yet," said Sarutobi. "Naruto exceeded everyone's expectations, and made it into the Chuunin exam finals. Everyone is expecting him to be there, especially after he made a few remarks about avenging a certain Hyuuga."

"Hm... it's ok for now, sensei," she said. "The boy managed to weasel some training out of me, so I'll make the best of it. But just know though, after the exams are over, I fully plan on taking him with me and making him strong enough to defend himself against those people." The vagueness in her tone was enough indication for Sarutobi to be wary. He knew that Tsunade's spy network was extensive, and anyone that could keep themselves off the grid meant big trouble.

"I understand, hime. I'll get the paperwork ready. I'll put it under the guise of a long-term mission." Sarutobi paused, thinking about his next few words. "As for Orochimaru..."

"I'll be here. I can stop him," she replied. "But be careful, sensei. We don't know exactly where he is, and you know he can be a sneaky bastard when he puts his mind to it."

"Tsunade." At hearing her name, Tsunade looked at her sensei. "There is a chance I won't make it through this one. He's determined. Moreso than I've ever seen him in the past. And I don't know if I have the strength to stop him." At his admission, Tsunade had never seen him look more weary than he had ever been. "If I fall-"

"Don't talk like that sensei!" she yelled. The thought that Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, would fall in battle was disconcerting.

"If I fall, I need you to carry on the mantle. I need to know that there is someone I can trust to carry on the will of fire to the next generation," he said, almost pleadingly. At this, Tsunade looked away. She knew what he wanted, but could not agree.

"Sensei," she started. "Sensei, I can't-"

"But it is your duty, Tsunade! With Orochimaru turning traitor, and Jiraiya's departure, you're the only one!" She could feel the sadness in his voice. The betrayal he felt, that two of his students were lost to him, was almost palpable. And for once in her life, she didn't know what to say.

"Tsunade-sama," chimed the slug on her shoulder. "Naruto-kun is waking up." To say that she was grateful for the interruption was an understatement.

"Wonderful," she replied. She turned to Sarutobi. "Don't worry, sensei. I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that the will of fire will be instilled in the next generation of shinobi." It wasn't an acceptance, but it was the best she could do. Before she could see the disappointment in the Sandaime's face, she headed towards the window and made her way out of the tower.

–

Naruto knew exactly where he was, but that didn't mean he was any happier about it. Nevertheless, he couldn't deny how comfortable the inside of a slug was. He felt like he was in heaven. Before he could revel in the calming waves of chakra and slug juice, though, he felt himself being moved. Ahead of him he saw a bright light, and he was rushing towards it. In one great heave, Naruto was suddenly outside. From the ground, he could see a pair of high-heeled shoes next to four pig feet.

"Baa-chan, I hope I came out of the slug's mouth," he said. A chuckle was his only reply. _Ewww, _he thought.

"So brat, it looks like you're getting used to the mental fatigue from all of your clones?" she asked. Naruto thought about it, and she was right. Where before, it had been a painful throbbing of new information coming in, now it was less than a dull ache. He nodded to Tsunade in reply.

"Good! Now we can start training properly!" At this, Naruto's eyes widened.

"You mean you're gonna start teaching me jutsu?" he asked excitedly. At seeing her shake her head in a negative, he stared at her in confusion. "Then what are we gonna do?"

Tsunade smirked. "Dodge training."

–

Naruto was exhausted. He could honestly say that he had never been so tired before, even when he was learning to climb trees with chakra. He had spent the past twelve hours with Tsunade as the slug sannin threw large boulders at him. Normally she would have used rubber balls, as to not injure her target during training, but she let him know that she knew of his accelerated healing, and didn't have any reservations when it came to inflicting bodily harm. Plus, she was the best medic in the world! If she couldn't heal broken bones in seconds, then she didn't have any business using that title.

It wasn't even until after four hours that she had taught him how to utilize his chakra to enhance his body. Apparently it was something all shinobi did to one extent or another. As his chakra control improved, the greater the effect he could expect from said enhancement. At first, he didn't think it would make such a difference, because his chakra control was shit. But apparently, all of the training with his clones was paying off in dividends, because he took to it like a fish did to water. By the end of the first day, he could definitely say that he was as fast as Sasuke was at his best. _Hehe, take that teme. I'm catching up to you. Just wait. When we face each other in the exams, you won't know what hit you._

He was beyond excited. Even though it was hard work, he just knew that his new sensei was taking him to a whole new level of being a ninja. With that thought, he drifted off to sleep with a big smile on his face.

–

Three weeks later found Naruto and Tsunade back in the same clearing. His clones had worked non-stop since that first day, working throughout the nights. Every morning, Naruto would arrive, clear the field of the previous day's clones, and replaced them with a new set. As a result, he could definitely say that his biggest weakness had morphed into a strength. He still wasn't as good as the sannin next to him when it came to chakra control, but he was well on his way.

Naruto readied himself for more dodge training, but Tsunade stopped him. "We're not doing that today, Naruto."

"We're not?" he asked. Despite the repetition, Naruto couldn't argue with results. These days out of every 100 boulders she threw at him, he might be hit by one or two. He wanted to perfect it and get that number down to zero.

"I have something different planned. Today, we're going to teach you to use the Kyuubi's chakra," she said.

Naruto was worried. He didn't like using the Kyuubi's chakra. As powerful as it was, it felt malevolent to him. Just plain wrong. He vocalized his thoughts to his teacher.

"Get over it, brat. You're a shinobi, and you have to be able to utilize all the tools at your disposal." Naruto begrudgingly agreed. He might not like it, but he definitely knew that it was a part of him. At his nod, Tsunade summoned a medium sized slug that carried with it a large scroll. Thanking the slug, she took the scroll and opened it for Naruto to see.

"This is the Slug Summoning Contract. Consider yourself lucky, kid. I don't let just anyone see this, let alone sign it." Naruto was shocked. He had seen Tsunade use these summons to great effect for various purposes, and he couldn't wait to do so as well. Tsunade, for her part, was equally as excited. She knew that Naruto had a crazy, unpredictable mind, and wanted to see how he would utilize the slugs in the future. Summons weren't just for battle. She herself was a testament to that fact, using her slugs for communication, spying, tracking, healing, and other purposes. That's not to suggest that slugs were in any way weak in battle. They were definitely formidable in their own right.

Naruto bit his thumb and signed his name in blood. After Tsunade showed him the hand seals, she stood back, and told him to summon the largest slug he could. Unlike the other summons, the slug family was unique in that there was actually only one slug in existence. Katsuyu, was actually an amalgamation of all the slug summons, and the version that arrived depended largely on the amount of chakra used. The more chakra, the larger the slug.

Looking over at Naruto, she wasn't surprised that he was only able to summon slugs the size of her hand. Normally, Naruto would have been able to summon the largest of Katsuyu's forms, with his natural tendency to utilize huge amounts of chakra. However at the moment he had almost one thousand shadow clones in a different part of the forest working on more chakra control. Consequently, Naruto only had about .001 percent of his normal chakra at his fingertips. This served a purpose. A Naruto with only a thousandth of his chakra would be easily exhaustible, meaning that he would have to tap into the Kyuubi's power if he wanted to succeed in summoning a giant slug.

It seemed, however, that exhausting his chakra supply still wasn't enough. Try as he might, Naruto couldn't summon anything larger than he was. It was then that Tsunade was hit with some inspiration. A growing smirk on her face, she walked up to Naruto.

"Naruto..." Naruto knew that tone of voice. Whenever he heard it, something bad was about to happen. Nervously, he turned towards his teacher. Carefully, he studied her face. Yep, she was definitely about to do something crazy.

"Naruto, it doesn't seem like you're getting it. Maybe you need a little incentive," she said. "I'm warning you now, if you don't summon a giant slug in your next attempt, you'll definitely die."

That was all the warning he got. As seconds later, he found himself flying thousands of feet in the air, screaming his lungs out. She had thrown him. Not just across the clearing, not just above her head. She had literally grabbed him by the neck, and thrown him straight up. He knew that if he didn't do anything, he would fall and most likely die. He'd never seen anyone survive a several-thousand foot fall.

Deep inside him, the Kyuubi awoke. **Troublesome.**

Before he could realize what was happening, Naruto felt it. The power, coursing through his veins. A tainted, malevolent power. With no other recourse, he threw out the hand seals and yelled "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" In one swift moment, he felt all of that energy rushing out of him.

When the smoke cleared, Tsunade saw that yes, he had done it. Naruto had summoned Katsuyu in her entirety. Anyone with eyes couldn't fail to notice the gigantic, several-story tall slug that now occupied the space between Naruto and the ground.

–

Naruto couldn't believe it. Here he was, standing on the biggest slug, or any other animal actually, that he had ever seen.

"Congratulations, Naruto-san," it said. "I hope we can work well together in the future."

At this acknowledgement, Naruto nervously nodded at the giant slug. "Thanks Katsuyu-chan."

"So rude," the Giant Slug said, before dispelling itself, causing Naruto to fall several hundred feet. Tsunade cautiously approached the mass of orange on the ground, lying injured and broken.

"Ahhhh, yeah. I forgot to mention it, but Katsuyu-sama is a stickler for formality. Next time, you should try your best to treat her with respect." A small twitch was all Tsunade received in reply. She couldn't keep her laughter contained any longer, but proceeded to start healing the injured genin. "Come on, let's get you all healed up and ready. You don't want to miss the exams, do you?"

–

Alright guys! Wow, this was a lot harder to put on paper than I'd thought. I've gotta give more props to those people whose work of fanfiction I've read throughout the years. I'm actually really excited to get this fic going, and hope that you stick with me until this is done.

I'm pretty caught up with it now, and I'll avoid making any huge speculations with my story. I know there are some fics out there that, for example, try and guess who Tobi/Madara/Masked Guy is, and I feel like if I did the same and end up being wrong, I would lose heart in finishing what I began lol.

I want to provide an interesting read, and welcome all reviews, good and bad. I really hope that this will be an eye-opening experience. I know that my writing right now is very underdeveloped, but I think that this will help me grow into a better writer in the end.


	2. Ready, Fight!

AN: Alrighty, here's chapter two! I hope I don't disappoint :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; it is the property of Masashi Kishimoto

–

Naruto was scared. More so than he had ever been at any point in his life. Waking up earlier that morning, he thought that by now he would be sporting a brand new chuunin jacket, in front of a large cheering crowd screaming praises to his name. Instead, here he was, running to stop his idiot of a team mate from getting himself killed.

It was only minutes earlier that the tournament was still under way. Sasuke and Gaara were in the arena kicking each other's butts, while he was having a great time in the competitor's stand reveling in his victory over Neji. Thanks to Tsunade's avoidance training, the Hyuuga prodigy was barely able to lay a finger on Naruto. In the end, it became a war of attrition, and let's just be honest- when it comes down to stamina, no genin could match Naruto. To say that everyone in the stadium was shocked at the outcome was an understatement. Up until that genjutsu hit, Naruto was having a very good day indeed.

Even now, Naruto didn't know how exactly it happened. One moment he was watching Sasuke charging up his Chidori, and in the next he found himself being prodded awake by Sakura and a grumbling Shikamaru. Apparently they found themselves in the midst of an invasion. Before they could ready themselves for battle, however, Kakashi had appeared before them and assigned them a mission to bring Sasuke back. The genin took it upon himself to chase Gaara out of the arena without any back up, so it was up to them to make sure he didn't die. On the way out, they ran into Shino, who appeared to have been able to break the genjutsu as well. It was in this situation that Naruto now found himself in. Led by Kakashi's own ninja dog, Pakkun, the four closely followed the scent trail left behind by the sand siblings and Konoha's last Uchiha.

In his distraction, Naruto failed to notice a small slug crawl out from under his hitai-ate until it spoke to him. "Naruto-san."

"What the-" in his surprise, Naruto ran straight into a tree.

"Keep up, baka!" screamed Sakura as she jumped over him.

Naruto stood up and continued tree-hopping. Looking at the slug, he asked, "Katsuyu-sama, how long have you been there!"

"One week, Naruto-san. Since you never take off your forehead protector, I found it to be a convenient hiding place." Naruto made a mental note to shower more often. "But that's besides the point. I have a message from Tsunade-san. She says to remember your training, don't die, and that if you should die, she'll bring you back to life just to kill you again."

In his head, Naruto was trying to remember the three* laws of medic ninja that Tsunade taught him during their month of training.

_Rule one- No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to and end. Damn it Baa-chan, you didn't teach me any medical techniques. What the hell am I gonna do? Rule two- No medic ninja something something lines. Damn it, I should have paid more attention to that one. Oh well. If I make it out of this one alive, I'll ask her later. Rule three- No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon. Ugh. I just hope no one dies, period. How am I supposed to fight by these rules? I'm not a medic nin like the old lady!_

As if reading his mind, the slug was quick to quash the doubt in his mind. "Do not worry, Naruto-san. Remember, we slugs are proficient at utilizing basic healing jutsu. Just feed us chakra, and we'll do the rest."

Naruto nodded, feeling more confident about the upcoming battle.

"Behind us," said Pakkun. "Nine."

"I'll take care of them," Shikamaru volunteered. "You guys keep going." Sakura and Shino nodded at him, and continued with the chase. Naruto, however, remained where he was. "What are you waiting for, idiot. Go! I'll keep them busy."

Naruto threw out some hand seals and summoned two slugs the size of his fore-arm. "Take this," he said, throwing it at Shikamaru. The shadow-user caught it and gave Naruto a questioning look. "Just trust me."

Shikamaru nodded to Naruto as the blonde dashed off to catch up to Sakura and Shino. He didn't exactly know what to do with the slug, but if Naruto said it would help, he wouldn't ignore it. Placing it on his shoulder, he found that it automatically attached itself to him using chakra. "You wouldn't happen to know what to do in this situation, do you?"

"I do not, Shikamaru-san," replied the striped blue creature on his shoulder. "But good luck." At hearing this, Shikamaru sighed. Leave it to Naruto to give him something troublesome. With that thought, he turned his sharp mind to the task ahead of him. Nine enemy ninja were headed his direction, and he had but a few minutes to think of some way to slow them down.

–

Shikamaru didn't have to wait long. As soon as the enemy ninja stepped into the clearing, he triggered the exposive tags he had placed earlier. This forced the sound ninja to collapse into a group where he could easily reach all of them with his shadows.

"Damn it," he cursed. He only counted eight caught in the jutsu. The ninth one had been fast enough to jump out of the way. From his left, he could see the last Sound ninja making his way towards him with a kunai in hand. _I don't have enough Chakra to move all eight of these guys with me. I'm either gonna have to let go, or get stabbed_

Just as he was about to let the technique go, Shikamaru felt a huge influx of chakra coming from the slug on his shoulder. In less than a second, he felt his own reserves jump back to full. With a reaction time only a genius of his caliber could pull off, the young Nara reinforced his shadow imitation technique and jumped out of the way of the Sound ninja's attack. Before his attacker could recover, he pulled out his own kunai from his pocket and threw it.

Much to the Sound nin's surprise, the attack missed by a huge margin. What he didn't expect, however, were the eight projectiles headed his way coming from his allies. Within seconds he was torn to shreds as he was hit by his own teammates' attack. Shikamaru felt a satisfying sense of accomplishment at the Sound nin's death, and turned his attention to the remaining eight still stuck in his jutsu. "Now, what do I do with you guys?"

Their screams could be heard from miles away.

–

When Asuma arrived, at the clearing, he had expected some action. But to his surprise, he saw his lazy student standing in the middle of a pile of dead enemy ninja.

"Damn, kid. I didn't know you had it in you. Good job. Of course, you owe it all to your awesome teacher," he said smugly.

"You wish, Asuma-sensei," the young genius replied lazily.

"Haha, whatever you say, kid. Let's catch up to the other guys. You can give me a report on the way." Shikamaru nodded to his sensei and started off in the direction Naruto, Sakura, and Shino went. As he was giving Asuma a situation update, he couldn't help but be amazed at how he felt. For lack of a better word, it was absolutely amazing. Despite using most of his chakra in his fight against Temari during the exams, and again with that squad of Sound ninja, he felt like he was on top of the world. Sparing a glance at the slug on his shoulder, he gave it a questioning look.

"I am transferring Naruto-san's chakra to you, Shikamaru-san." replied the creature. "Do not worry. He is still at 73 percent capacity, but please use it sparingly." Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise. _Naruto, what kind of a chakra monster are you?_

"Ahead," said Asuma. "Two more chakra signatures."

They arrived at another clearing, where lo' and behold, another one of his team mates was waiting. A quick glance told Shikamaru all he needed to know about what happened. It seemed that Shino had triumphed against Kankuro, the puppet-user, as the Aburame was standing over the unconscious body of his opponent.

"Oy, Shino. You alright?" he asked.

"I am fine, Shikamaru-kun. In fact, I feel fantastic," said the Aburame, pointing to the slug on his own shoulder. It seems that Naruto had also given the bug-user his own chakra battery.

"Let us hurry. Naruto-san and Sakura-san have caught up to their targets and are in need of assistance," said Shino's slug. The three nodded and took off, hoping they wouldn't be too late.

–

Naruto couldn't believe that worked. For that matter, neither could his teammates. Sakura looked like she was about to come over and hit him over the head, while Sasuke just face-palmed.

"You idiot!," yelled Sakura. "That's not a real move!"

Naruto just smiled. "Hey, it worked, didn't it?" he said, pointing a finger at the injured Gaara.

"A little too well, I think. Now he looks even angrier than before. Good job, dobe," said Sasuke. Naruto hated to admit it, but Sasuke was right. Within seconds, Gaara's sand had recovered from the damage the blonde had inflicted.

On the bright side, none of the members of Team 7 had any injuries on their person. The slugs found themselves working overtime healing all of the minor injuries Gaara had been able to inflict. Luckily, the sand-monster had yet to hit anyone with something crippling enough to render the slug-healing useless. But Naruto knew it was just a matter of time. The red-head was deadly, and if they didn't make a move soon, someone was bound to get hurt. On top of that, the healing slugs were really taking a toll on Naruto's own reserves, even more so than the ones he left behind with Shikamaru and Shino.

"I can't keep this up too much longer guys. I may have a lot of stamina, but if we don't end this soon even I'm gonna end up dry," Naruto warned. At this, Sasuke nodded and began to charge up a Chidori. Sakura also heeded the warning, and prepared some ninja wire and exposive tags.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!," yelled Naruto. Suddenly he was surrounded by a dozen clones. He sent them all to attack the sand demon, as a distraction. As expected, Gaara had dispelled them all, but the resulting smoke meant that he couldn't see Sakura's ninja wire wrap around him.

"Kai!" said the pink-haired girl, igniting all of the explosive tags she had attached to the wires. While barely leaving a mark on Gaara himself, the explosions were strong enough to disperse the outer layer of sand, leaving the Sand-shinobi with only one layer of his ultimate defense left.

"Chidori!" Sasuke utilized this opportunity to unleash his most devastating attack. Before it could land though, the raven-haired gennin found himself flying through the air as a gigantic gust of wind threw him off course.

Naruto couldn't believe they forgot about her. When he and Sakura had caught up to Sasuke, the female Sand ninja seemed content to let her brother do most of the work, content to watch from the sidelines and determined not to get caught in the crossfire. Naruto had assumed that she would simply stay out of the way.

At this point, Naruto was starting to feel the strain. He had been supplementing four people with his chakra. He thought about cutting off Shikamaru and Shino, but he needed them to get here fresh enough to help out with the fight, not dead on their feet. Removing his chakra now would just leave them back to their exhausted states.

Speaking of his wayward team mates, Naruto sensed their approach. "Sasuke, Sakura, backup is incoming." No sooner had the words left his lips that the stragglers from his mission team caught up, bringing with them a fresh Jounin in the form of Sarutobi Asuma.

"Asuma-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed once she saw him.

The jounin nodded. "Good job kids. I'll take it from here. Take care of the Sand girl." Accepting the order, all of the genin turned their attention to Temari, who suddenly looked nervous at the prospect of fighting a 5-on-1 battle.

Taking their positions, said five surrounded her, ready to pounce. Before they could do so, however, Temari opened up her fan to its full size and blew a huge gust of wind at Sakura. The pink-haired girl tried to dodge it, but was completely blown away by the power of the attack. Temari took this opportunity to escape through the opening Sakura left behind. Unfortunately for her, for the second time that day she found herself caught in Shikamaru's Shadow imitation technique, unable to move an inch further. Shino then used his kikai bugs to siphon her chakra away, leaving her exhausted and unable to move.

After tying her up the genin found Sakura, who had landed in an awkward position and had broken her arm. "Sorry, Sakura-chan, but I don't know how to mend bones yet," said Naruto.

"It's ok Naruto, I'm not in any pain. This slug is really useful," she said, giving the creature on her shoulder a small pat on its head.

"Ah, yeah, Katsuyu-sama is the best summon ever!" Naruto admitted that while he was wary of the slug summons before, their utility had proven to him how strong they could be.

"Oy, let's go see if Asuma-sensei needs any help. He's still fighting Gaara," said Shikamaru.

"Pssh," said Sasuke. "He's a jounin. What jounin can't handle a-"

He was interrupted by the sound of an agonizing roar permeating the air. The genin turned their heads towards the jounin and his fight agaist the Ichibi Jinchuuriki, and were horrified by what they saw. Torrents of sand were converging on Gaara, whose size was growing by the second. Asuma himself looked no worse for wear, but seemed perplexed at what was happening before him.

"Asuma-sensei," asked Shikamaru. "What' happened?"

"I don't know!" the Jounin exclaimed. "One second I was beating the crap out of him, and the next he's exploding in a crap ton of sand." Said sand-monster was now as tall as the trees. "I think I hit him a little too hard on the head."

"Uh, Asuma-sensei, did you knock him out?" asked Sakura. "Because he said earlier in the exams that he'd never been able to sleep before because of his demon." At her statement, Asuma's eyes widened.

"Well fuck me," he replied. He and the rest of the genin looked on at the sand monster, who was now gigantic, easily towering over the trees. Suddenly, a loud, obnoxious laughter could be heard throughout the forest.

"I... am... finallyyyyyyyyyyyy FREEEEEEEEEEE!" screamed the giant. Its beady eyes looked around. "Wait, this isn't my desert. Where the hell am I?" After a few seconds its eyes seemingly focused in on Sasuke. "YOU!" it screamed. "You're the one who made my container bleed! I want your blood!" Without warning, it summoned a wave of sand and sent it flying towards Sasuke.

The raven-haired genin, however, could only look on as it headed straight towards him. Despite the fact that he had a Sharingan, his speed was still lacking. He had no chance of dodging it. Before it could reach its intended target, though, Sasuke saw a flash of blonde from the corner of his eye. He suddenly felt himself being pushed out of the way.

"Naruto!" he yelled. He couldn't believe it. It was the reverse of what happened in Wave. This time, it was his team mate who sacrificed himself for the Uchiha.

"We're even now, teme," Naruto was able to say, before his head disappeared underneath the churning waves of sand that now covered him.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What an idiot!" exclaimed the sand-demon. "Who's next?" he said, looking around expectantly. Before it could do any more harm, however, it stopped in its tracks. None of the genin could see what caused this pause in the huge creature. Their silent questions were quickly answered, however, when they all felt it.

Their first warning came from the slugs on their shoulders. Instead of the calm green chakra that had they had constantly been exuding, the slugs were now glowing a violent red. Shikamaru had never seen anything like it before in his life.

"Brace yourself, Shikamaru-san," his slug said. Seconds after he received this warning, Shikamaru was hit by a blinding pain emitting from the creature on his shoulder. A foreign chakra, much more potent than what Naruto had given him earlier, entered his system, forcing its way through his chakra coils. Looking around, he saw that his fellow genin were in much the same position as he was, screaming out in pain as their insides were being slowly invaded.

The pain stopped as quickly as it started. Sasuke stood up, realizing that whatever that energy was had forced him to his knees. _What... what is this energy?_ he asked himself. He had never felt stronger than ever. Looking at his hands, he saw that his fingernails had extended and hardened themselves into sharp claws. On his right, he heard Sakura gasp. She had noticed the changes in her hands as well. Furthermore, it seemed that her arm was no longer broken. The biggest change in her, however, were her eyes. Instead of the bright green that normally dominated them, there was dark red surrounding cat-like pupils.

The genin looked about themselves, noticing that they had all developed slight feral-like characteristics**. A small explosion brought their attention to the pile of sand that Naruto was buried under. A clawed hand had emerged from the sand, followed by a patch of blonde hair, signaling that their friend was indeed alive. The group collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"I. Hate. Sand!" exclaimed Naruto, as he climbed out of the hole he created. Unlike his teammates, Naruto was covered in a thin shroud of red chakra. He looked around at his fellow team mates. "Ah, damn it. It looks like I have some explaining to do." They all just nodded,curious about the power surging through their veins.

"Explanations later, Naruto. For now, we have to deal with that thing," Asuma said, pointing over his shoulder at the giant raccoon demon that dominated the landscape.

"On top of his head," Sasuke said. "I can see Gaara from here. It looks like he's unconscious."

"All we have to do is wake him up. That should at the very least stop the demon. Plus, he'd been throwing chakra around earlier like it was candy, so he's bound to be tired," Shikamaru said. "We just have to find a way up there."

"You all know how to tree-walk?" Asuma asked. Receiving a confirmation from the five genin, "Alright. Two teams of three, we're gonna climb that son of a bitch. Be on high alert, and ready to dodge anything that thing can throw at us. Distract him as much as you can, and split his attention. Whoever can get to the top first wake him up."

"Hai!" they all replied, before dashing away. Asuma couldn't help but feel disconcerted, as he saw that the five genin all dashed away running on all fours. Putting that thought aside, he followed Shino and Shikamaru as they started their climb on the Sand-demon's left leg.

–

Sakura couldn't say that she'd ever climbed anything in a more hectic manner. Ever step she took, a spike of sand erupted from the surface of the demon's sand armor. At every turn, tentacles of sand formed ahead of them trying to swat them away. Her reflexes had never been more taxed than they had been at this moment. Luckily, with the help of Naruto's weird red chakra in her system, she was able to react quickly, run faster, jump higher than she had ever been able to before. When sand obstacles blocked her way, she found herself clawing through them instead of around them. To her side, she saw a flash of fire erupting. A tentacle of sand had forced Sasuke to jump away, but he had used a fire jutsu to blast himself back onto the surface of the beast. On the other side, Naruto had been faring just as well, utilizing his shadow clones and kawarimi to quickly escape anything that had grabbed a hold of him.

To say that she was impressed with her blonde team mate was an understatement. He had surprised her time and again with his unpredictability and creativity in tough situations. Sakura could say that without a doubt, they wouldn't be faring so well against Gaara without him. Seeing both of her team mates grow so much in the past month, Sakura resolved to not get left behind. _What have I been doing this past month?_ she thought to herself in disgust. _Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Wake up, Sakura. You're a ninja now._

In truth, she was right. She had treated the past month as a vacation of sorts. Without Kakashi or her team mates there, she hadn't even taken a single D-rank mission, let alone train. She had to get stronger, just like Sasuke. Just like Naruto.

–

When team seven reached the sand-demon's head, Sakura saw Asuma, Shikamaru, and Shino jump from the other side. Unfortunately, Gaara's demon also knew that they were near its host's body, and pulled out all of the defenses it had. Huge torrents of sand began to form large arms, erupting from the ground they were standing on and trying to grab at the shinobi. Shikamaru was the first to be caught, followed by Sasuke and Sakura.

"I will save them. Asuma-sensei, Naruto, keep going," said Shino, who seemingly sent out an unending cloud of insects from his sleeves. The kikaichu bugs flew out to catch the three genin, attaching themselves to the arms of sand that had them in their grips. Siphoning chakra from these sand constructs made them lose their form, leaving the three genin in mid-air. Luckily, Shino's insects formed a floating cloud underneath each genin, carrying them safely back towards the bug-user.

Asuma and Naruto drew close to Gaara's unconscious body. Actually reaching the sand-nin became more difficult, as the sand under their feet acted like a treadmill, forcing them away every time they moved forward.

"Asuma-sensei!" Naruto cried out. Forming the seal for his kage bunshin, Naruto created a group of clones in front of Asuma, which the Jounin used as stepping stones in order to reach Gaara. When he was within reach, Asuma focused chakra on the tip of his fingers and touched the 'love' kanji on Gaara's forehead, sending a jolt running through the sand ninja's body.

As soon as he woke up, it was as if a switch was turned off. The gigantic mountain of sand below them all lost its form instantaneously. Without the Ichibi's chakra to maintain it, the whole construct collapsed, causing all seven to fall hundreds of feet to the ground.

Instead of dying a gruesome death by falling, however, all seven including Asuma and Gaara soon found themselves inside the stomachs of human-sized slugs, cushioning their fall. After a few bounces, the genin and one jounin were promptly spit out onto the ground, covered in slime.

"Ewwwwwwwwwww!" Sakura shrieked. "What the hell, Naruto!"

"Indeed," said Shino. "My insects and I found that... unpleasant."

"Hehe," said the slug-summoner. "Sorry about that. At least we're alive, right?"

While the other genin were trying their best to clean the slime off of themselves, Shikamaru sat in quiet contemplation. All of that red energy had disappeared once they landed, and none of this fellow genin still had the feral characteristics that they developed minutes earlier. "So, Naruto. What exactly was that?" he inquired.

The blonde looked like a deer caught in headlights, realizing his predicament. He looked at his friends earnestly, hoping that after he revealed his secret, they would still be his friends. But before he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the one person who he was least expecting.

"You're like me, aren't you," said Gaara. "You have a demon inside you." Everyone turned their attention to the one person they had forgotten about. Gaara lay there, exhausted but lucid.

"What are you talking about? Naruto's nothing like you!" said Sakura.

"Yes he is," replied Gaara. "He's exactly like me. He has a demon in him that he can't control. But tell me, Uzumaki? What's your secret? Why are you so strong? Why are you _all_ so strong?" The last part left Gaara almost breathless, frustrated that he couldn't prove his existence.

"Because," said Naruto breathlessly, "we don't fight for ourselves. We fight for those who are precious to us. We fight for each other."

"For... each other?" Gaara looked confused. "What if... what if there's no one else?" At this proclamation, Naruto felt the greatest pity for the defeated jinchuuriki.

"There is always someone" said Temari. Gaara had completely forgotten about his sister, but there she was, tied to a tree with his unconscious brother. "There is always someone, Gaara. Kankuro and I, we're there for you. We're your family, and we'll always be there for you. Even if you don't acknowledge us." At hearing his sister's confirmation, tears started pouring from Gaara's eyes.

"Onee-chan..." he said quietly.

–

The trip back to Konoha was a quiet affair. Asuma led the way, followed by the genin carrying their prisoners. Surprisingly, they were all physically well, if not a bit exhausted. Naruto had finally sent his slugs home, leaving them all with low levels of chakra.

No one spoke about the revelation about their blonde-haired companion. Naruto, in all his insecurity, felt himself fall into the arms of depression. He was worried. Since no one has said anything, and he couldn't read their minds, he could only assume the worst. He was interrupted from his thoughts by Asuma.

"All of you head to the hospital. I'll take these three with me to the holding cells," he said. Grabbing Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, he slung them over his shoulders and disappeared in a flash of leaves.

Looking around at his fellow Genin, Naruto started to walk away. Before he could take more than a few steps, he felt a hand grasp him by the shoulder. Looking at the owner of the hand, he asked, "What do you want, Sakura-chan?"

She said nothing as she pulled him into a hug. Tears formed in his eyes, as he looked at Shikamaru and Shino, both of whom sighed and shook their heads.

"Man, Naruto. Why did I have to get stuck with such an annoying friend," said Shikamaru, waving his hand at them dismissively before walking away.

"I look forward to working with you in future missions, Naruto-kun," said Shino, following Shikamaru.

"Don't think this makes you special, dobe." said Sasuke, crossing his arms and sticking his nose arrogantly in the air.

Naruto smiled. He'll take what he can get. Naruto started to feel his spirits rise. His friends accepted him, and right now that was all that mattered. But suddenly he felt a sharp killing intent from Sakura.

"Naruto," she said dangerously, "Don't you ever stick me inside of a slug and cover me in slime ever again, got it?"

Rubbing his hand on the back of his head and smiling, "Sure thing, Sakura-chan. Never again."

–

It took about one week after the invasion for things to settle down again. In the interim, the elders Homura and Koharu, both of whom were the Sandaime's old teammates from many years ago and powerful ninjas in their own right, took charge of the Administrative responsibilities while Nara Shikaku, the Jounin Commander, handled Konoha's military forces. Until the Daimyo convened the council and appointed a new Hokage, it was up to them to maintain the illusion of Konoha's strength to outside forces.

During times of instability, it was generally considered _polite_ to follow their orders without question, as any signs of dissonance amongst the ranks during these crucial points could resonate as weakness to their enemies. Consequently, when Tsunade received their summons she couldn't very well say "no."

Upon entering the makeshift office the three leaders fashioned for themselves in the Hokage Tower, Tsunade already knew what they were going to ask of her. As they laid their argument out for her candidacy, her thoughts started to wander. She often imagined what it would be like to have been chosen to be the Yondaime at one point in time, and she would be lying if she had said the offer of being Godaime didn't cross her mind ever since she attended the Third's funeral. But truth be told she just wasn't capable of taking on the title. Yes, the position came with great power and responsibilities. Yes, the position came with a lot of political clout she could use to push forward the few policies that she championed. And most importantly, yes the position came with a near-endless expense account she could use to fund her compulsive gambling.

But she had a duty to Konoha. Maintaining her intelligence network was perhaps one of the few things that made the village rise up above and beyond its peers. Konoha had strong shinobi, but so did Kiri and Suna. Yes, Konoha had a booming economy, but so did Kumo and Iwa. The other villages didn't become great by sitting idly. What Konoha had, was intelligence. Forewarning. And while everyone had their own spy network, none was as fast nor as deeply seeded as Tsunade's. The downside, was that they trusted her, and only her with their information. Yes, her spies were loyal, but not to village itself.

Once upon a time, she had thought she would eventually been able to hand down her mantle as spy-master to her would-be apprentice, Shizune. They had travelled together for a while. Tsunade built upon the extensive medical knowledge the girl had already established herself during her travels. Unfortunately though, that plan fell short as extenuating circumstances drew the girl from her dream of becoming a medic nin on level with Tsunade herself. _Speaking of Shizune... yes. That might work. _Thoughts of her errant apprentice triggered an idea.

"Homura-san. Koharu-san. Nara-taichou," she said. Interrupting Homura's tirade of why Tsunade should be the next Hokage. "I have, a better idea..."

–

Naruto had spent much of the last week in a jumble. He felt as if he'd been thoroughly gone on an emotional roller coaster. In the same week he had received the first signs of acceptance from people close to him, the only grandfather-figure in his life was murdered. The highs and lows of the past week were really getting to him. Luckily, there was so much to do to keep his mind off of things. The Chuunin offices had a huge backlog of D-ranked missions, most of which had to do with repairing the damage done by the invasion.

In addition, it seemed that Sakura was really serious about improving herself as a ninja, oftentimes asking Naruto and Sasuke to help train her. Naruto felt elated that she would ask him for training, not because he still harbored feelings for her, but rather because it was a sign of her acknowledgement that he was someone strong enough to teach her a thing or two about fighting. Sasuke also enjoyed this new Sakura much better than before, because in the end he really did have a healthy respect for strength and the people willing to go the extra distance to obtain it.

"No, Sakura. Like this," Naruto said. "You need to widen your stance a bit more, so that you can utilize all of your muscles in your body when you punch instead of just using the ones in your arms."

Sakura nodded, and by following Naruto's advice, was able to deliver a substantial hit on the training dummy in front of her. "Arigato, Naruto-kun."

A slow clapping could be heard, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all turned towards its source. "Would you look at that? And the student has become the master!"

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto yelled. At hearing the moniker, said woman blushed red in anger, as veins began to bulge on her forehead.

"Naruto! Show some respect!" admonished Sakura. "Do you not realize who that is? That's Tsunade of the Sannin! The most powerful kunoichi in the world!"

Hearing this attracted Sasuke's interest. _So she's the one who trained Naruto. Hm. Doesn't seem so special to me._

"Meh. Baa-chan's just a crazy lady," Naruto said dismissively.

"Baka!" Tsunade screamed out. "I am not crazy, and I am most definitely not OLD!" Before Naruto could dodge it, she had already struck out with her fist, sending him flying straight up into the air.

_Strong!_ Sasuke thought, having a complete 180 change of opinion on the woman before him. "Teach me," he commanded.

"Sorry, kid," she replied. "I already have an apprentice." Naruto chose this exact moment to land right in front of her. "Even if he may not look the part," she sighed. Hands glowing with chakra, she picked him up and started healing the numerous broken bones Naruto had just developed. Throwing him over her shoulder, she started walking away.

"Um, Tsunade-sama, where are you going with Naruto?" asked Sakura timidly.

"I'm gonna go on a little mission. Tell Kakashi when you see him that I received a special dispensation from the Advisory Council to take the brat with me, so he's excused from his normal duties until further notice. We'll be back in a few weeks."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," answered Sakura as the pair shunshin'ed away. She would be lying to herself if she didn't feel a little jealous of Naruto, as he was about to go on a trip with every little ninja girl's role model.

"Tsk, whatever. I'll find someone else strong to train me," said Sasuke.

–

It took Naruto a few minutes to regain consciousness. When he woke up, he was lying on his back, and all he could see was the bright sky and a few trees passing by. Sitting up, he realized that he, Tsunade, and Tonton were on the back of a giant slug crawling at a surprisingly fast pace away from Konoha. He could see the village gates quickly disappearing behind him. He turned an inquisitive look to his master, to which she replied "Don't worry, Naruto. We'll only be gone a few weeks. We're gonna go looking for a friend of mine. His name is Jiraiya, and he's gonna be the next Hokage."

AN: Wooooooohhhhh. That was harder than the first chapter haha. A couple of you guys asked about pairings, and for now let's leave it open-ended. This isn't exactly a story about romance, so if I do decide to make a pairing in the future, it will be very minimal and be low-key. I don't know if I was clear near the end, but just to nip the issue in the bud, no Shizune is not dead, she is with Jiraiya (not in _that_ way you sickos lol). Just exactly why she is will be revealed in the next chapter :D Also, I hoped I did the fighting scene with Gaara ok. I didn't want Naruto to do the whole summon fight thing again, but I wanted him to have a reason for being given Tsunade's slug summon contract and a way of teaching him to use Kyuubi's chakra. The fic is entitled Slug Sage, and I think it's more than appropriate for him to incorporate them into his fighting capabilities in a rather heavy-handed manner. Anywho, lemme know what you think! Good reviews, bad reviews, all are welcome. I'd love to hear more about your guys' ideas about where this story could go. I have my own, but who knows what crazy shit people on this website can come up with? Lol.

*I don't know if this is canon or not, but let's just say that at this point in time, Tsunade hasn't created the Strength of a Hundred Technique yet, and that there are only three laws that medic nin have to abide by.

**Think of what Naruto looked like in the Wave Country Arc, only they're not all glowy- just the slugs.


	3. That Manipulative B!

AN: Alright guys, on to Chapter 3! So far, one of the biggest criticisms I'm getting is about how closely this is following canon, and I happen to agree! What's the point of writing a fanfiction if all I'm doing is regurgitating what's happening in canon in a slightly different way. So for you detractors out there, don't worry, my story will start carving its own path. I just plan to be very careful with it because (and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I've said this before) I don't want to accidentally make a prediction only for Kishimoto to completely come in from left field and screw me over (Kazama Arashi fics, amirite?). Anywhoooo, let's get on with the story :D

Disclaimer: Naruto is the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto.

–

"Easy, Naruto. Easy," said Tsunade as she guided his hand over the poor creature. "That's it. Not too much, or you'll-"

Her words were cut short as the fish under their hands began to expand. Pockets of its flesh erupted in large blisters, and in it's last throes of death, exploded in a gory mess of fish guts and innards.

"Ah shit," said Naruto dejectedly. "We can't eat that one either."

"Haha!" Tsunade laughed. "That's the spirit. Again!" From the bucket sitting next to her she pulled out another fish. "This time, maintain your focus and try to keep the flow of chakra stable. This is our last fish for the day. If you think it's gonna explode, just stop so we can salvage it for dinner."

The Slug sannin and her brand new apprentice had set up camp in the middle of the woods somewhere halfway between Konoha and Kiri. It was still a few days' ride away from their next destination. It had been two and a half weeks since they began their journey, but Jiraiya was nowhere in sight. In the mean time, there's nothing like the present, so she decided to begin training Naruto in the basics of healing.

The boy, however, was far from a natural. While the shadow clones had helped in reigning in his chakra control, he was a long way before approaching her level. Fortunately, he was still progressing. Small increments it may be, it was still proof to her that given enough time, he can grow to be a powerful medic ninja.

Naruto, on the other hand, was quite frustrated. Why couldn't she just teach him cool fire jutsu like the ones Sasuke threw around?

The Shousen Jutsu, or Mystical Palm Technique, was a tricky one. It wasn't flashy or attack-oriented, but it was damn useful to know. What it did was jump start the natural healing process, speeding it up and essentially forcing the body to heal itself at insane speeds. It was very basic, and didn't require anything _technically_ difficult, but it did require a lot of finesse and a constant level of chakra being pumped through the user's hands and into the injured person's body. Too little chakra, and the jutsu healed too slowly to be effective. If a person was bleeding out, for example, it wouldn't do very much help if it took an hour to close the wound. Too much chakra, on the other hand, can overload the patient's circulation and trap them in a comatose state. Useful at times, but generally not the goal of the technique. Even more dangerous, are large, uneven bursts of uncontrolled chakra like in Naruto's case. These cause the cells to over-replicate, creating cancerous tumors that can burst if exposed to the chakra for too long.

The right hands however, used this jutsu to devastating effect both in and out of battle. Tsunade herself is the perfect example of this. She was known world-wide for her mastery of the jutsu, healing thousands of people with it during her long tenure as a medic nin.

While her close-combat prowess and monstrous strength were also equally publicized, not many knew she utilized the Shousen for offensive purposes as well. Few people could survive a serious clash with one of the Sannin, and those that did were victims to Tsunade's Mystical Palm. Every time Tsunade landed a hit- a punch here, a kick there- not only were bones broken, but the areas hit would develop invisible, malignant tumors that terrorized the enemy nin's body. Most of the time these ninja would perish during battle, but those lucky few who were strong enough to escape death soon found themselves perpetually weakened as cancer wreaked havoc on their bodies.

It was one of the reasons the Sannin spent so much time at the top of the ninja totem pole, as anyone who had the potential of ever surpassing them found their bodies and ninja careers crippled by a deadly disease that only medic nin of her caliber could cure.

"Ne, Baa-chan," Naruto ignored her angry glare. "How am I supposed to be Hokage with wimpy jutsu like this? What am I gonna do when someone attacks the village- heal him to death?"

Tsunade sighed. "You are an idiot, Naruto. Being Hokage isn't always about being the strongest. Don't get me wrong. You have to be strong to protect the village, but there are many different types of strength out there in the world. So get it out of your head that you have to muscle your way to your goal. You can't always punch your way through your problems."

"Coming from you, that's a little on the ironic side, isn't it?" said Naruto.

"Don't get cheeky with me, brat. One of these days, you're going to be in a situation where spitting fire and shitting lightning bolts isn't gonna do shit for you. What then?" she challenged.

"Pfft. Obviously that's when you pull out the Earth jutsu." At his answer, Tsunade felt like banging her head on the nearest tree. The kid can't be this dense, can he?

"Kid, just shut up and keep that fish alive." _The kid needs to be taught a lesson_, she thought. _Too bad for him I'm the only teacher he's got right now, hehe._

–

Naruto didn't notice it until it literally hit him in the face. He made another not-so-smart remark about Tsunade's age, and found himself quickly flying through the air and into the sign hanging above the bridge.

"Great Naruto Bridge, eh? Nice name. Wait, what the- Great NARUTO Bridge?!" He sat up quickly and stared at it. Very rarely was he recognized for his talents and contributions, but when he was, he cherished those moments dearly.

"Pfft. What a shitty name for a bridge." Tsunade said.

"Shut up you old hag!" Naruto yelled. "What the hell are we doing in Wave Country anyway?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" At his blank look, Tsunade clarified. "While you were playing Doctor with the fish, I told you my sources say that Jiraiya is somewhere in Wave Country. Now let's go before it gets dark, again. I've secured lodgings for the next few days while we scout around for my teammate."

It only took a few minutes for the pair to cross the bridge and enter Wave Country proper. As soon as they got to the other side, Naruto's eyes widened. It had only been a few months since he had been here, but the place had completely transformed. Gone were the ramshackle houses and dilapidated buildings. Everything looked to be new, and the villagers were bustling about like they had purpose. Naruto could see kids playing in the street, no longer begging for scraps like the last time he had been here.

Tsunade led Naruto to the biggest house in the village. While not exactly the epitome of opulence, Naruto could tell that whoever lived here was comparatively well-off. Tsunade knocked on the door, and he was surprised at who answered.

"We've been expecting you, Tsunade-sama. And you brought Naruto-kun!" said Tsunami, as she greeted them at the doorway.

"Tsunami-san?" he asked, not sure if the woman in front of him was really the same as the one that had housed Team 7 before.

"Naruto-nii-chan!" he heard right before a little boy barreled straight into him.

"Inari! Whoa, how do you guys know the old lady?" he asked, pointing a finger at his companion.

"I was in Wave a few years ago, actually" said Tsunade. "At the time they couldn't afford real doctors here, so I set up a free clinic for a while. I even delivered this little brat here." She picked up Inari in a hug, and held him close to her.

"Tsunade-sama was the one who suggested we go to Konoha to ask for help," a familiar voice said. From the top of the stairs, Naruto could see Tazuna. Out of the three of them, he could honestly say that the old man had changed the most. For one thing, he no longer had the perpetual smell of alcohol on his body. He also held himself in a manner that conveyed confidence. "Of course, she could've saved me a ton of money if she'd just come her herself."

"Tsk, I told you I was busy." She turned to Naruto. "A few towns away there'd been an outbreak of some pretty nasty shit I had to take care of."

"It's ok, Tsunade-sama," said Tsunami. "Why don't we all head inside? Dinner should be read soon."

"Oh yeah! I haven't had your cooking in a few months! This place changed so much since the last time I was here, it'll be nice to eat something familiar," said Naruto. With this declaration, he made his way into the house, followed by Tsunami and Tazuna. Tsunade gave Inari one last hug before putting him back down on the ground. No one noticed the subtle green glow emanating from her hand as she led the boy into the house.

–

"Goddamn it, all this running around's got me riled up. Ne, Itachi, can't we just bust in there and grab the brat? I can't spend another two weeks running around you know. My sword's hungry!" Hoshigaki Kisame, the Monster of the Hidden Mist, was getting on his nerves. The man really was too bloodthirsty for his own good. Good thing that he was Uchiha Itachi; lesser men would have kowtowed to the beast, but not him.

"Very few people nowadays can see the virtue of patience," Itachi remarked, his face impassive as always. "Do not underestimate her," he warned. Kisame rolled his eyes at this, but said nothing. Tsunade may not have been able to match him or Itachi in terms of pure, raw chakra, but that did not make her any less dangerous.

"But don't fret. I think your... talents... will be of use sooner than you think."

–

Looking around the table, Naruto could barely control himself. Arrayed in front of him was quite possibly the most delicious-looking feast he'd seen in years. Gone was the bare-bones rice porridge he'd had in the past. In its place were sumptuous cuts of meat, delicate and savory at the same time, ready to be grilled. _Yup,_ he thought, _Tazuna and his family definitely moved up in the world_.

Inari himself had grown up a bit. He had seemingly left that shadow of his former self behind, carrying a perpetual smile on his face. Tsunami no longer looked worn down. Without the threat of death looming over her family, she had come out of her shell and exuded confidence like never before. With his completion of the bridge, Tazuna had given his family and his country a way out of the depression that plagued them for years.

In their company, Naruto had never felt happier. These people were concrete examples of the good that was out there in the world. The good that stemmed from his own hands, and represented the good he would do in the future. With a large smile on his face and without hesitation, he dug into the meal.

Were he more observant, he would have seen that his sensei wasn't nearly enjoying herself as much as he was. Sure, Tsunade had a smile plastered on her face like all the others, but it did not reach her eyes. Furthermore, while naruto noticed that she was still wearing her shoes- normally a faux pas, as it was customary to leave footwear at the door- he attributed it to the fact that he didn't think anyone would be brave enough to berate the legendary ninja on her lack of manners. Lastly, was the fact that Tsunade did not take part in her second-favorite past time, alcohol binging.

But alas, in the company of friends and the promise of a roof over his head for the night, Naruto let his guard down. _What an idiot,_ Tsunade thought. _After tonight, though, he'll never make that mistake ever again. In fact... here they come now._

Naruto was about to place the last piece of yakitori in his mouth when he felt it. A monstrous amount of chakra seemingly exploded from out of nowhere as a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds and a large, bandage-wrapped sword on his back, crashed through the ceiling and landed right on top of the table, sending food and dinnerware everywhere. To his credit, as soon as he felt the man's presence Naruto immediately charged his entire body with chakra, grabbed Inari, and jumped away. The enemy swung his sword at Naruto, only to find empty air as the blonde successfully dodged the strike. Naruto put Inari down and switched to a defensive stance. He quickly glanced around the room, noting that Tsunade had done the same with Tsunami and Tazuna.

"Hehe. You're fast, kid," said the strange man. Upon closer inspection, Naruto saw that the man had grey skin and that his teeth were all sharpened to a point, giving him a distinct shark-like appearance. "Name's Hoshiga-"

The man's introduction was cut short as a fist planted itself in his gut, making him double over. This was quickly followed up by a knee to his face, partnered with an elbow to the back of his head, as Tsunade made herself known. Unfortunately for her, instead of the satisfying, crunchy squish that was normally associated with the collapse of the human skull, her victim slowly became transparent, like water. _A Mizu-bunshin_, she thought. On reflex, Tsunade turned around and caught the large, bandage-wrapped sword in her hands as it came down towards her.

"You bitch. I wasn't done tal-" Kisame started. Yet again, before he could finish his sentence, Tsunade pulled at the sword, drawing him forward and throwing him off balance. Once he was within reach, she threw out her leg in a crescent kick, hitting his head with the inside of her foot. This time, she smirked, as she knew her foot made contact with the real thing. She was disappointed, however, when she failed to decapitate him with her kick. Instead, he flew through the wall, skidding to a stop thirty feet away down the street.

Seeing the hole she made, she looked to Tsunami and Tazuna. "My apologies. You can send the repair bill to Konoha. Naruto, stay here and protect them. I'll take care of the garbage" Gripping the sword in her hand, she made to jump out of the house to follow her opponent. However, she felt a flare of chakra coming the sword itself. Within seconds, it exploded in large, grey spines that would have most likely killed her, had she not hurled it back at its master.

Kisame was almost back on his feet when he felt, rather than saw, the large spiky ball that was Samehada head his way. A large explosion of water marked the use of another water clone. A few meters away stood the original. _Barely 30 seconds into the fight and she's already got the upper hand, _he smirked. _Finally, a real fight._

The smile on his face didn't last long, as Tsunade pushed her advantage. Despite cutting off his introduction earlier, she knew exactly who it was she was facing. Hoshigaki Kisame was as famous as they come. Known as the Monster of Kirigakure, the Tail-less Tailed Beast, Kisame was no laughing matter. In order to stand toe-to-toe with him, she would have to dictate the fight and bring it into close-ranged combat. His jutsu would obliterate her from far away if she let him, so her best bet was to keep him within range of her fists. This wasn't an easy task, as Kisame used to be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Fighting up close and personal was his thing too. _Meh,_ she thought. _We'll just see who's better._ With that thought, she charged.

–

From afar, Naruto watched as his sensei fought the missing-nin. "Yeah! That's right, Baa-chan! Give him the ol' one-two!" he called out to his sensei, who tore after her target in hot pursuit. Somewhat childishly, he was mimicking his sensei, punching the air in front of him as if he was fighting in her place. Luckily, his adrenaline-heightened senses picked up the incoming kunai before it embedded itself in his neck. Ducking and making his way in front of the scared family, Naruto stood defensively over them, ready to face the new threat.

"You're grown, Naruto-kun." His voice was cold, and sent a chill that Naruto could feel in his very bones. Like the other one, Naruto could feel the power rolling off of him in waves. What surprised him the most, however, was how much of a resemblance the newcomer had to his team mate Sasuke.

"H-How do you know my name?"

"Hn." _Just like Sasuke,_Naruto thought. "Let's just say you are famous." Before Naruto could retort, he saw the Sasuke look-alike form a single hand seal and take in a deep breath. When he exhaled, a large fireball erupted from the ninja's mouth, headed straight towards Naruto and the family. _No! I can't dodge that!_ thought Naruto, knowing that if he did the family behind him would burn to a crisp.

Instead of the searing heat of flames, however, Naruto suddenly found himself engulfed in a strange, sticky liquid, floating a foot or so above the ground. He couldn't see anything, but was glad he wasn't dead. He felt the fluid surrounding him shift, as he was deposited back on the ground.

"Naruto-san, please be more careful next time."

Hearing the kind voice scolding him, Naruto knew at once that yet again he owed his life to the slugs. Naruto looked up to see an elephant-sized Katsuyu towering over him. Getting back to his feet, Naruto dodged as he saw the large slug unceremoniously regurgitate a frazzled Inari, Tsunami, and Tazuna.

Looking around, Naruto saw that they were no longer inside the house. Rather, the slug had carried them outside, where it knew he wouldn't be trapped in another dangerous situation.

"Thanks again, Katsuyu-sama. You're the best!" he said. "But how did you get here? I didn't summon you."

"Like before, Tsunade-san has taken to hiding slugs on your person, Naruto-san. In case of emergencies." Naruto nodded at the slug, silently wondering to himself when the last time was that he had a bath. This was getting ridiculous.

"That was... disturbing, Naruto-kun." A cold voice interrupted his musing. The enemy nin was back. The large slug moved its way in front of Naruto to protect him, but before it could do anything it soon found itself covered in black flames, forcing it to dispel itself. With the slug out of the way, the dark-haired ninja turned his focus back on the blonde. With a quick burst of speed, he made his way in front of Naruto, and before he could react, grabbed him by the throat.

"Let go of Naruto-nii!" Afraid that he would see another one of his heroes die in front of his eyes, Inari charged blindly at the enemy ninja. He never made it to Naruto.

From his position, Naruto saw the entire event in slow motion. He saw Inari running towards them as his captor pulled out a Tanto from beneath his cloak. He saw a stream of blood arc it's way through the air as Tsunami's and Tazuna's screams could be heard in the background. This was the last straw, as Naruto pulled from deep within himself the Kyuubi's chakra. It was faint at first, but after a few seconds, he was covered in a thick cloak of red energy.

–

Itachi felt his arm start burning as it held on to Naruto by the throat. _So he can use it..._ he thought. Itachi wasn't stupid. He knew that fighting a Jinchuuriki was dangerous. _Besides, I got what I came for_. With that, he gripped his short sword and drove it through Naruto's shoulder, pinning him to the ground. Calling upon his chakra, he threw out a hand seal and used a Shunshin jutsu to teleport away.

–

Naruto screamed as the cloaked ninja stabbed him with the sword. Red chakra flaring, he used his other arm to grab the metal sticking out of his shoulder and pulled it out. The wound cauterized on he flaming red cloak of energy, before slowly closing itself. Naruto could literally see his flesh knitting shut in a sedate pace. Looking around, he saw that his enemy was gone before letting go of his control of the kyuubi's energy, letting it dissipate. Standing up, he suddenly remembered Inari. Looking over to where the boy was laying in a growing puddle of blood, he saw Tsunami and Tazuna weeping over him.

"Move back!" he commanded, making his way to the boy. At first, he tried to staunch the bleeding by applying pressure to the boy's chest, where the wound was at its deepest, but it did nothing as the red liquid continued to pour out. Making hand seals, he summoned a couple of slugs, placing them on his person and on Inari, before channeling his chakra.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-san, but this is a major injury. Channeling your chakra to me to heal him would be too slow, and he will bleed to death. You need to heal him directly," said the slug.

"I can't!" he said vehemently. "What if I get it wrong? What if I end up killing him? Where is Tsunade?!"

"I do not know, Naruto-san. But we have no time to wait for her. You must perform the procedure." Her kind voice didn't help ease Naruto's mind as he stared at the bleeding boy. He tried gathering chakra in his hands, but it came in flashes. He couldn't hold a steady stream of it.

"Naruto-san. You must believe that you can do this. You are his only hope." Steeling his nerves, the blonde genin pushed more chakra out of his palms, solidifying the glow before pressing it to Inari's wounds. He saw the wound start to shrink, and he gained more hope. It was working! Naruto's focus was rock-solid. When he put his mind to task, few things could throw him off course. And this was Inari! Failure was not an option.

The first sign that something went wrong was when the jutsu stopped working. Naruto tried pushing more chakra to it, but no matter how much he converted, the healing chakra was no longer entering Inari's body. _But, that would only happen if-_

"Inari? Inari, wake up." Tears welled up in his eyes. "Inari, no. You can't die. You just can't," he begged. He couldn't hold it in anymore. Behind him he heard Tsunami collapse, wailing at her father that her only child had perished. Tazuna himself was in shock, and couldn't move.

–

It was a somber scene that greeted Tsunade when she finally found her way back to Naruto and the others. Her student was kneeling over a cold corpse of a child while mother and grandfather held onto each other for their lives.

"Naruto." The boy didn't answer. "Naruto, we have to go. We can't stay here or they'll be back."

"Baa-chan." The humor was gone from his voice. "This can't happen again. I won't let it." At this declaration, she nodded at him. "I need to be strong. You're going to teach me everything you know." She nodded again. "I'm going to save everyone." She nodded one last time, before summoning a travel slug. Naruto took one last look at Tsunami and Tazuna before jumping on the slug's back. Tsunade followed suit. Wordlessly, the two blondes made their way out of Wave Country, never looking back.

–

It was only a day later that the two made camp again. While Naruto prepared the fire, Tsunade stood up and spoke for the first time since the day before.

"I'm going to go scout the area and set up traps. I'll be back later. Take care of yourself until I get back." With that, she created a single shadow clone, and the two shunshin'ed away.

–

"Good job, Itachi." Said missing nin nodded at the blonde hologram. "Now that we know the nine-tails' capabilities, we can continue with our plans with more confidence. Where is Kisame?"

"We were separated, Leader-sama. But it is not a problem. We are set to rendezvous in three days at the designated location."

"That is of no consequence, then. I will contact you with your next assignment once you rejoin your partner." With that, the hologram disappeared.

"Good job indeed, Itachi." He heard a slow clap behind him. Itachi tensed, his hand grabbing his tanto, only for him to realize he had left hit behind in Wave. "Looking for this?" A heavy silver object landed at his feet. From the black handle, he recognized it as his old weapon from his Anbu days. Itachi looked up, just in time to see Tsunade emerge from behind the tree.

"Tsunade-sama," Itachi bowed his head. "I have done as you commanded."

"You followed my orders perfectly. I am grateful to have such a competent subordinate," she replied.

"Forgive me for my impudence, Tsunade-sama, but if I may?" he asked. She gave him a slight nod, prompting him to continue. "But why are we all the way out here in Wave Country? You already know that Jiraiya-sama is in Otafuku-Gai."

"Ah, that old pervert can wait. These people here are the only ones that Naruto actually gives a damn about, other than some of the people in Konoha, and I wasn't about to let you and sharkface run amok _there_." Itachi nodded in understanding. Letting his bloodthirsty partner release his pent-up aggression in the middle of a crowded village was not exactly ideal.

"Speaking of Kisame..." he prompted.

"Ah yeah, the slippery bastard's alive, but he'll think twice before trying to take me on again. On the plus side, he can tell Akatsuki just exactly what's standing between them and the Kyuubi. It should buy me some time. I just hope I can train the boy enough before they try again."

"And Naruto-kun... was that not particularly... cruel?"

"Maa, maa Itachi. Don't worry. You taught Naruto a valuable lesson yesterday. From what I observed in training him for the Chuunin exams, he needed a reality check. If anything, we've forcefully shoved him down the right path. With his new determination, I'll mold him into the most powerful ninja since his father. No one, not even Akatsuki, will be able to use him, and he'll be able to stand on his own."

"For the good of the village?" he asked.

"For the good of the village."

–

Tazuna heard the knock on the door. He didn't have to open it to see who it was, thanks to the large opening on the side of his house.

"Tsunade-sama."

Without waiting for a further invitation, the blonde Sannin let herself in.

"Tsunami!" Tazuna yelled. "Tsunade-sama is back!" The woman emerged at the top of the stairs, looking all the worse for wear. Her eyes were still red, having spent a majority of the night crying.

"Tsunade-sama," she bowed.

"Tsunami, Tazuna," she nodded at the both of them. "Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. As promised, here is the payment." She took out an envelope and handed it to Tazuna, who promptly opened it without hesitation. His eyes grew wide.

"T-This is twice the amount agreed upon! Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" he bowed to her again.

"For the damages," she smiled.

"And Inari?" asked Tsunami. At her inquiry, Tsunade nodded and went into their living room- one of the few parts of the house that remained relatively unharmed. She grabbed one of the pillows at the side of the room and placed it before her. A few hand seals later, a little boy appeared in place of the pillow. Gathering green healing chakra in her hand, she touched him lightly on his forehead, releasing the jutsu she had placed on him a couple of days before.

"I put him in a comatose state. He'll be back to normal in a few hours." Tsunami rushed forward and hugged her son. "I'm sorry for what you had to see, Tsunami. That can't have been easy."

"No, Tsunade-sama. It wasn't," the woman replied. "Thank you for the payment." Tsunami picked up her son and made her way back up the stairs. Recognizing it as a sign of dismissal, Tsunade looked at Tazuna and shook his hand.

"Thank you again, Tazuna." With that, she let herself out. The old man watched as she walked away whistling without a care in the world.

–

Woot! That was fun to write haha. I had a version of this chapter ready to go like, two days ago, but I thought it was crap, so I redid it. Pretty glad I did :D Hopefully it came out alright haha. A couple of hidden gems in this chapter that I thought I can build upon for the future of this story. One, is Tsunade's ability to create real goddamn (Inari's doppleganger). Not illusions, not shadow-clones, but a real, flesh-and-blood clone. The other is the fact that Inari's actually alive haha. How do you think Naruto's gonna react when Tazuna shows up with his grandson to help rebuild Konoha (whoops, spoiler? Kind of? Idk, lmao) in later chapters? To clarify, Tsunade put Inari in a coma when they got there, made a clone, Naruto saw the clone die, tsunade comes back a few days later and sets things right.

I can't remember if I promised Jiraiya and Shizune for this chapter, and if you were expecting them, sorryyyyy! I'm pretty sure I'll get to them next time. Oh, and just a side note- In this story Tsunade's not evil or anything, she's just manipulative :D

Remember, keep sending in ideas! I'm literally flying by the seat of my pants here, so if you think of something awesome, and I agree, maybe I'll take the fic in that direction.

Anywho, hope you enjoyed! Seeya next time!


End file.
